Kenya Airways has lost contact with a 737-800 aircraft which took off from Cameroon early today, the airline said.

The plane was reported to be carrying 115 people.

"We have no details about what has happened to the aircraft," said Kenya Airways chief executive Titus Naikuni.

The flight left Douala at 12.05am and was due to arrive in Nairobi at 6.15am.

According to the Kenya Airways website: "The last message from the aircraft was received by the control tower in Douala immediately after take-off."

The airline said it had opened a crisis management centre near the airport and had no further details.

Mr Naikuni said there were 106 passengers, eight crew members and a flight engineer on board the plane. The flight originated in the Ivory Coast but stopped in Cameroon to pick up more passengers, the airline said.